Laos and Cambodia

[indierock05]

Hey all, I am going to try and hit up Laos and Cambodia in January for 2 weeks...

Here's the catch...

I want nothing too touristy and very traditional Asian lifestyle type of trip. I obviously don't want to get run down by toursits and the like. I love the water so maybe some place around there. I know some of you have been to the area and I would love some advice!

[simply_angelic]

Never been but always wanted to, good luck!

[freespiritz]

Hrmmm...I was only in Cambodia for a week, making two stops - Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (for Angkor Wat). Angkor was wayyy tourist-infested but I guess that's to be expected from the must-see stop in Cambodia. Otherwise I found the country to be quite quiet, in the sense that there were other travelers around but I didn't feel over-touristed. Except for NY's eve which I spent on a Siem Reap street full of drunk white people. Maybe that felt different because I'd just come in from Vietnam where everything was too organized.

Do you only have two weeks for two countries, or two weeks per country? If you only have two weeks total, I'd probably recommend focusing on one country. I wish I'd had had more time in Cambodia than the week that I had. For water, you could check out the Tonle Sap lake, visit the floating villages and ride some boats through the mangroves.